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Phoenix Mars Lander To Begin Rasping Ice Shavings

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the can't-wait-to-sand-it dept.

Rob writes with an excerpt from an article at spacefellowship.com: "A powered rasp on the back of the robotic arm scoop of NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander is being tested for the first time on Mars in gathering sample shavings of ice. The lander has used its arm in recent days to clear away loose soil from a subsurface layer of hard-frozen material and create a large enough area to use the motorized rasp in a trench informally named 'Snow White.' The Phoenix team prepared commands early Tuesday for beginning a series of tests with the rasp later in the day. Engineers and scientists designed the tests to lead up to, in coming days, delivering a sample of icy soil into one of the lander's laboratory ovens. 'While Phoenix was in development, we added the rasp to the robotic arm design specifically to grind into very hard surface ice,' said Barry Goldstein, Phoenix project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. 'This is the exactly the situation we find we are facing on Mars, so we believe we have the right tool for the job. Honeybee Robotics in New York City did a heroic job of designing and delivering the rasp on a very short schedule.'" I still can't get enough of pictures of a little hunk of metal on Mars.

10 of 80 comments (clear)

  1. Universe's most expensive snow cone by elrous0 · · Score: 4, Funny

    And you don't even get cherry flavoring.

    --
    SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
    1. Re:Universe's most expensive snow cone by 192939495969798999 · · Score: 4, Funny

      In my day, we ate our rust-flavored snow cones and we liked 'em!

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      stuff |
    2. Re:Universe's most expensive snow cone by Chris+Burke · · Score: 2, Funny

      In my day, we ate our rust-flavored snow cones and we liked 'em!

      In my day they we didn't have the snow, they were just paper cones filled with rust!

      --

      The enemies of Democracy are
  2. Machines on Mars by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    For some reason, every time I hear something about the Mars rovers I picture a couple of Daleks wandering about on a red desert.

  3. Pap Smear by Hoplite3 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Wait ... Rasp ... Snow White's trench ... Mars is getting a pap smear! She's really into preventative medicine.

    --
    Use the Firehose to mod down Second Life stories!
  4. Ice shavings by rarel · · Score: 3, Funny

    Fuck everything, we're doing five blades!

    1. Re:Ice shavings by dotancohen · · Score: 2, Funny

      Fuck everything, we're doing five blades!

      I don't care if the engineer has to put one vertical!

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      It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong.
  5. Re:Is Slashdot NASA's RSS feed? by bondjamesbond · · Score: 5, Funny

    You read it wrong. We are "News for Mars, Stuff that Gathers", you insensitive clod.

  6. oblig. by MRe_nl · · Score: 2, Funny

    Phoenix was a NASA 'bot,
    But Phoenix is no more.
    What Phoenix thought was H20
    was H2SO4

    --
    "Kill 'em all and let Root sort 'em out"
  7. Re:I don't know but I would guess by fahrbot-bot · · Score: 2, Funny

    Something like viton...they can withstand everything from hot lubricating oil with additives through to vacuum with UV.

    Sounds like a date I once had...

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    It must have been something you assimilated. . . .